The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sometimes in a passionate relationship, one is willing to give up their own selfish desires

‘ "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember the advantages that you 've had..." In consequence I 'm inclined to reserve all judgments.’

The story of The Great Gatsby is a novel that consists of a historical American context during the Harlem Renaissance. This was an excellent novel published in the 1920’s and was considered one of the best novels of its time. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald was an incredibly talented poetic author. Fitzgerald was able to emphasize and create the mood of the generation in a political time. The novel The Great Gatsby is a remarkable novel but also a very sad one. The novel took place during an age or era known as the “Roaring Twenties” which was a time of American wealth. Politics and corruption at the time is possibly what made Gatsby to be the business man he was.

"Never has symbolism played such a crucial part in the very foundation of a novel as it does in Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, The Great Gatsby." Harold Bloom has written about this book. The author used several types of symbolism in The Great Gatsby. The colours are probably the easiest to be recognized and guessed what they symbolized. According to the definition “symbolism” is "the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships."

The Prince, a philosophical work of literature introduces maxims that have become a part of American Literature from the past to present day. In one of America’s well known classic, The Great Gatsby, a story of the spontaneous Jazz Age filled with power struggles, a materialistic society, and the infamous affairs of the twenties create maxims for a character in the novel. Machiavelli’s maxims have had an impact in many writings and continue throughout this novel. Daisy, the most intriguing and charming character brings the defense, rebellion, and promising traits it takes to become a successful prince.

“Be careful what you wish for.” It’s too bad the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby didn’t heed this warning. Set in the 1920’s, The Great Gatsby tells the story of how the narrator, Nick Carraway, moves to Long Island and befriends the mysterious millionaire next door, eventually joining him on an adventure to help reunite him with his long-lost love. With the extravagant parties and riches beyond compare, the book soon takes a turn for the worst. However, the tragic ending could have been avoided if only the characters hadn’t been blinded by what they wanted. Although each character was driven by their desires, the character most blinded by his dreams was Jay Gatsby, the namesake of the novel. All Gatsby ever wanted was for Daisy Buchanan to love him. Everything Gatsby did was to win Daisy’s love, but his efforts were ultimately in vain. As the book progresses, the reader begins to learn and to understand Jay Gatsby’s motivations, eventually seeing that his dreams of being with Daisy were the driving force behind his quest for wealth.

Most define the American Dream as an equal opportunity for all to achieve success through handwork and determination. Many define success as having or gaining wealth and power. This isn 't true for the novel The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Instead Fitzgerald represents the withering of the American Dream, in the novel the American Dream is presented more as a overpowering idea of aspirations far from reach, making it less of a dream and more of a distant thought. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald slowly deconstructs the image of the American Dream and builds upon the corrupting nature of wealth. Due to the corrupting nature of wealth we are able to identify the theme of the withering American Dream, which is being represented through

The book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has been read in schools for decades. The experience is different for everyone. Some may love this book while others just purely hate it. I have to say I am in between loving and hating this book. I do like the look into the lives of the rich of the 1920s and I did enjoy the overall story. However the cheating I wasn’t fond of. I do understand that is what happens with the rich so I do enjoy the fact that it historically accurate. Another topic that I will touch upon is the drunkenness and reckless driving portrayed, quite accurately, for this time period.

The Great Gatsby is the novel that is based on how rich people were back in the old days. This Novel takes us through the early 1900’s where the narrator, Nick Carraway meets secretive Mr. Gatsby who is a Trimachio which means that he once was a poor young kid who believed in a greater future and by the time he gets older he becomes this very wealthy man who hosts lavish banquets. We are following Mr. Gatsby’s journey to the love of his life, Daisy who is Nick’s cousin. Since Gatsby has been gone for almost 5 years Daisy got married to another man called Tom. The novel ends with Gatsby being shot to death and no one was there to his funeral besides reporters and photographers, who Nick angrily chases out.

In the book, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is exemplified through many symbols and idols. Fitzgerald uses cars to represent wealth, success, status, and glamour. As Friedrich Nietzsche states, “There are more idols in the world than there are realities.” Nietzsche’s quote shows how idols and symbols are used to create impressions. Images are powerful and set a stage for others to judge one’s character, enabling human beings to avoid seeing what realities are. Idols are potent enough to mask the truth. In the novel, despite Gatsby 's own insecurities, he is viewed as an idol in society. Idols impact and influence Gatsby’s life and those living around him. Gatsby’s car represents an idol, illustrating his wealth, capturing attention, creating impressions, and covering misconceptions throughout life in the West Egg.

Life in The Great Gatsby was never shown as realistic. It was mostly of people who partied all night and drove in fancy cars and drank and danced until the sun came up. The only realistic life was Nick Carraway’s. He was just a guy trying to live and sell bonds in Long Island, but he got sucked into drama with his new neighbor and his cousin. Not all lives were so extravagant, most would think. However, it was called the roaring 20’s for a reason. People were living and having fun and actually partying. Flappers emerged and pushed boundaries, money was easy to spend with credit, prohibition was violated and forgotten, and all was well during this time period.

Quite a number of plays and novels written and ridden over the years seem to share a common theme; the search for the Omni-present, self invented standard that we have all come to know as ‘The American Dream’. The pursuit of this ever so highly held ideal not only drives many a character forward, but in some cases over the edge of sanity or even to their untimely deaths. This in a way makes ‘The Dream’ some sort of green eyed monster lurking in the darkest of corners found in the human mind. Making the pursuit of dreams almost as dangerous as say a high speed police pursuit on a crowded highway, the wrong side of a crowded even. For the very hopes and ideals that make up this most elusive of dreams seem to sow a great deal of doubt, delusions and disillusionment in whoever seeks it. The dangers of following your dreams are very real indeed; they should not however stop you.

“I was within and without. Simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” In The Great Gatsby, the narrator, Nick Carraway, reveals just about everything around him except for his own aspect on things. This passage was one of the few times that Nick actually gave his own opinion on the current matters that he had been swept up in, once he made the move from his hometown in Minnesota to the luxurious village of West Egg. The quote, although masterly woven into the story’s plotline, is easily picked out because of not only the rarity of the narrator’s opinion, but because of the generalization it poses for the reader to consider. Nick’s vague words do not go into detail, leaving the reader to wonder what exactly caused Nick’s “enchantment” and “repulsion.” Was it the grandiose parties, the glitz and the glam of the people, or the national attitude of the youth and the rich? It was all of the above, and more. During the 1920’s, it was a time of loose morals and materialistic dreams, of exciting rest and lazy work, of playing and partying, of living life luxuriously. If one didn’t participate in any of these subjects, one was considered an outsider, a renegade. One was shunned. Since society was as influential as a person’s conscious - possibly even more so - a person’s ambition shaped from innocent means to becoming filthy rich, notoriously famous and downright successful. Today, our perception on greed is that it’s a terrible idea to practice, and

A perfect world may be where there is money, a perfect, house, a wonderful spouse, beautiful and smart kids. The perfect lifestyle may only include having a job you’ve always wanted, or something simple as retaining the freedom given when entering the country. Ellen Truax was someone who saw the way people envisioned the American Dream, and those who couldn’t achieve it. She proposed an act called DREAM Act, which stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors. By this proposal she sought to give those who have been through tragic events such as deportation, a change to recreate themselves, a chance to give themselves a better life; the American Dream. (Stockwell, Diane, trans. Dreamers: An Immigrant Generation’s Fight For Their American Dream.” Publisher Weekly (2014): 59-60. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.)

After World War I, America offered the potential for boundless financial and social opportunities for those willing to work hard—an American Dream. The American Dream is defined as someone starting low on the economic or social level, and working hard towards prosperity and or wealth and fame. Establishing fame, becoming wealthy, having lavish luxuries, and a happy family would come to symbolize this dream. For some, however, striving for and realizing that dream ruined them, as many acquired wealth only to pursue pleasure. Even though the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby appear to relish the freedom of the 1920s, their lives demonstrate the emptiness that results when wealth and pleasure become ends in themselves. Specifically, the empty lives of three characters from this novel— George Wilson, Jay Gatsby, and Daisy Buchanan—show that chasing hollow dreams results only in misery.